Ex-Park City sergeant kills self before embezzlement sentencing

A former Park City Police Department sergeant who was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday in a wide-ranging embezzlement case was found dead in South Salt Lake in what the authorities there said was an apparent suicide.

Robert Lucking was 50 years old and lived in Heber. He worked for the Police Department for 10 years starting in 2002. He retired in late 2012 amid the embezzlement investigation. Lucking in November pleaded guilty to two felony charges stemming from the investigation. Lucking was scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Todd Shaughnessy on Monday.

He faced the possibility of a prison sentence of between one and 15 years on one count and a prison sentence of up to five years on the other count. Lucking in November pleaded guilty to a theft charge and a count of failing to keep, pay public money. Lucking had agreed to pay $50,000 in restitution as part of a plea agreement, County Attorney David Brickey said at the time of the plea.

Gary Keller, a spokesman for the Police Department in South Salt Lake, said the police at 8:15 a.m. on Monday responded to a report of a man suffering a medical problem at a business warehouse at 139 East, 3900 South where Lucking worked. The man was unconscious and not breathing when emergency responders arrived, he said.

Keller said a co-worker found Lucking’s body in a small passenger vehicle in the warehouse. He suffered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Keller said. The death remains under investigation.

Wade Carpenter, the Park City police chief, said Lucking was loved by many people in the Police Department. He offered condolences to the Lucking family and said the death is a "tragic event for our Police Department family and for the community."

Brickey offered similar condolences.

"It’s really tragic for he and his family. Bob Lucking had a lot of wonderful (attributes), Brickey said, adding, "I’m sure he would have recovered from this sentencing."

Greg Skordas, Lucking’s attorney in the embezzlement case, said Lucking was "by all accounts just a wonderful man."